Uber is world's highest valued start-up at $50bn

US-based ride-sharing service Uber has become the most valuable start-up in the world after its latest funding round.

The company is currently valued at $50bn (£32.1bn, €45.7bn), after raising $1bn in the round backed by software giant Microsoft and Indian conglomerate Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited.

Uber said it will use the funds to expand operations primarily in India, which is its second-largest market after the US. In the Asian country, Uber plans to expand services into new cities and develop new products and payment solutions.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is the second-biggest on the list at a valuation of $46bn, followed by Airbnb at $25.5bn.

US-based software and services company Palantir Technologies comes in at number four with a valuation of $20bn, while popular messaging platform Snapchat is valued at $16bn.

Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart and Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Kuaidi share the sixth spot with a $15bn valuation each.

Elon Musk's SpaceX, Pinterest and Dropbox round up the top 10 list, with all of them being valued at more than $10bn.

According to the Wall Street Journal, there are 108 so-called 'Unicorns' in the world that are valued at $1bn or more by venture-capital firms. Most of them are based in the US and Asia. Only nine of them are European.

Given below is a chart produced by Statista, showing the top 10 most valued start-ups across the world.

You will find more statistics at Statista.